Minutes later….. "May we come in now?" Asked DoHyun as she stood outside of her dressing room. Gabbie was beside her, beaming with excitement.
She couldn't wait to see them.
There weren't any males in the night bloom garden, the flower maidens were all females, they had to wear pretty dresses if they valued their lives.
Leaving them unattended in DoHyun's room wasn't an option, servants who clean up every now and then might come in and find them. Pretending they're maidens was the only way.
The door creaked open slowly, once it opened, there was short silence before Gabbie snorted….."HA!" Gabbie pointed and laughed out loudly upon seeing them.
Their faces turned red as she laughed uncontrollably, holding her stomach and pointing.
"HAHAHA…HEHEHE….HOHOHO!"
"Gosh Gabbie" Jason folded his arms.
Jason in a blue bob wig, Derrick wearing long wavy red hair and Eiden on shoulder length yellow hair, the three of them stood in shame, their red faces were covered in a way only their eyes would show, their dresses were long enough to cover their manly legs.
Other than their broadened shoulders and Derrick's slightly bulging biceps, they looked a lot like women…. Manly women apparently, and Gabbie couldn't get enough of it.
"Jeez Gabbie, you'll die laughing. It's not even funny anymore" said Derrick in spite.
Gabbie's eyes were already filled with tears and her stomach tightened, "yes it is! You should see faces….gawd I wish I had my phone right now, I'll post it on every social media out there". She giggled.
"You guys aren't looking too bad" DoHyun tried to hype them off their shame. Her eyes were constantly on Eiden, his face was beet red.
He caught her staring and immediately averted his eyes, "this is embarrassing" he muttered.
"Mymy! Derrick I didn't know you loved feminine things" said Gabbie mockingly
He narrowed his eyes at her, he had had enough of her nonsense. He struck a dramatic pose, his eyes sparkling with mirth. "you know what?" He asked Gabbie, "I'm not just a man in a dress, I'm a movement…..a movement to prove I make a better maiden than you ever could"
She scoffed "you truly have no Shame huh? What now? Considering a gender change?" She asked him, throwing a mocking smile at his prosthetic bosom.
Confidently, he held them up "at least THESE are bigger than yours" he smirked.
There was a short silence,
Gabbie stopped smiling, "what did you say?" She asked, her eyes showing a hint of green.
DoHyun tapped her shoulder "enough of the teasing, we need to get going. You also need to dress too Gabbie" she reminded.
"Hmph!" She turned away and walked out with DoHyun.
Once they left, Jason sighed out….. "I never thought I'd be embarrassed in this way," he said, glancing at the full-length mirror.
"I'm actually getting used to this already," said Derrick. Jason turned around slowly with a dry expression, he cringed the moment his eyes laid on Derrick flexing his muscles.
"See? I'm rocking this flower maiden thing" he said
"No wonder Gabbie wants to kill you every now and then, you're freaking annoying" Jason sat down.
Eiden sat, reminiscing the look in DoHyun's eyes as she stared at him. She must've thought he looked ridiculous dressed as a woman.
For the fourth time, he tucked the loose strands of his wig behind his ear and cursed, how do girls always manage long hair? It's straight up annoying.
Eiden's gaze swept across the room, taking in the shelves upon shelves of books that lined the walls. It seemed that DoHyun had a passion for reading, and Eiden found himself drawn to this aspect of her personality.
But it was her eyes that truly captured his attention, their unique color and sparkle were unlike anything he had ever seen before. Every feature of hers seemed to fit together in perfect harmony, from the braided hair that fell gracefully to one side to her bright, expressive eyes and her soft, gentle laughter.
As Eiden took in the sum of her parts, he felt his heart beat irregularly, as if it was trying to keep pace with the sudden rush of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him.
"We're done!" DoHyun announced and she stepped in with Gabbie.
Gabbie's hair was adorned to a fault with ornaments, her lower face was covered just like the rest and her hair braided and packed behind. She wore an attire similar to DoHyun.
They both had on a bright smile, it was captivating as well.
"Ha!" Said Derrick, "I can't believe it, you're supposed to be girl and yet I'm even more beautiful"
Gabbie's jaw clenched, she held her fist in front of him. She was speechless.
*****
Half an hour later, they were seated behind pink silk curtains. The nobles after introduction were seated in ornate benches around a long table.
Varieties of delicious dishes were served, roasted meats, steamed fishes, exotic spices and accompaniments accompanied with the famous wine brewed from the grapes grown at the imperial house.
In the gigantic hall adorned to the brim with silk curtains, lanterns and intricate carvings on the wall and pillars.
The meeting table was in the center while around, behind the pink curtains sat many flower maidens.
"Shit!" Derrick cursed once more as his stomach grumbled. He lost count of how many times he gulped, the aroma of the meals served kept calling unto him.
"Are we just going to sit here and watch?" Gabbie asked, the nobles have been talking for a while now and they've been seated for so long.
"We'll leave soon," DoHyun assured them.
Derrick groaned "this so boooooring", he stuck his head out through the curtain, it's been hours and the nobles were just drinking themselves to stupor.
He peeked through and his gaze caught onto one of the nobles, visibly wasted.
The man winked at him with a smug smile and licked his lips. Derrick cringed hard, did that man think he was a maiden too?
"Eww" he dropped the curtain.
"Seems like you caught the eyes of one of the noble men" Eiden said with a mocking smile,
"Yeah, that guy was totally checking you out," Jason chuckled.
Derrick fumed "that's freaking disgusting, stop".
They mocked him.
"Gabbie?" DoHyun called out
"Yeah?"
"What's a phone?" She asked